The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of telmisartan and/or pyridoxamine on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Rats were treated with telmisartan (T group) or pyridoxamine (P group), or telmisartan and pyridoxamine (TP group). The serum levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malonaldehyde and the level of 24-h urinary albumin were measured. Morphological changes in renal tissues were observed under light (H&E or Masson's trichrome) and transmission electron microscopy. Expression of NF-κBp65 and p-ERK1/2 in renal tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. Expression of receptors for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and TGF-β in the renal cortex was investigated by western blotting. We found that early renal structural and functional damage was alleviated in the three intervention groups. SOD activity was significantly elevated in the P and TP groups (P<0.05) compared to that in the T group. Of note, both the positive expression of NF-κBp65 (P<0.01 vs. the T and P groups) and p-ERK1/2 (P<0.05 vs. the P group) was lowest in the TP group. Our results suggest that the combined use of telmisartan and pyridoxamine is superior to the single use of either drug on renoprotection, which may result from the alleviation of oxidative stress and the reduction of NF-κBp65 and p-ERK1/2 activation.

Hyperlipidaemia is one of major risk factors for the development of coronary artery diseases and atherosclerosis and therapeutic drugs must be developed for it. Lycium barbarum fruit is used in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, L. barbarum oligosaccharides (LBOs) were prepared through hydrolysis with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and their hypolipidaemic activities were evaluated. A total of 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats were categorised into three treatment groups fed with high fat, LBOs and normal-fat diets, respectively. Oral administration of LBOs decreased body weight gain, total cholesterol level, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and liver weight. LBOs diet also increased the levels of faecal fat, cholesterol and plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as the activity of liver and serum lipoprotein lipases. Results suggested that LBOs exhibited high hypolipidaemic activity and could be explored as possible therapeutic agents for hyperlipidaemia.

Objective: To investigate the effects of intensively antihypertensive therapy by Urapidil on hematoma enlargement in patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage(HICH). Methods: Hundred and four-six HICH patients were randomly divided into intensively antihypertensive group (intensive group, 75 cases, Urapidil was intravenous injected by micro-pump, the target value of mean arterial pressure was 110 mmHg) and the conventional antihypertensive group (control group, 71 cases, Captopril was taken, the target value of mean arterial pressure was 130 mmHg). The changes of hematoma volume and score of NIHSS were observed after treatment, as well as mortality and adverse drug reaction. Results: Twenty-four h after treatment in intensive group, the average volume of hematoma [(11.9 ± 9.5) ml], the rate of hematoma enlargement (14.7%, 11 cases), and the score of NIHSS (7.2 ± 5.0) were significantly differences compared with the control group [(13.2 ± 9.9) ml, (31.0%, 22 cases), (8.9 ± 6.8) scores] (all P < 0.05). Thirty d after onset, the score of NIHSS (4.6 ± 3.4) in intensive group was significant lower than control group (5.7 ± 4.1) (P < 0.01); the mortality rate (5.3%) was lower than control group (9.9%), but the difference was no statistically significant. The adverse reactions between the two groups was no significant different. Conclusion: Therapy of Urapidil intensive antihypertension can prevent hematoma enlargement of HICH patients, and the method is safe and reliable.

Objective: To study the effects of cuttlefish bone-bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) composite material on osteogenesis and revascularization of bone defect in rats. Methods: The cuttlefish bone was formed into cylinder with the diameter of about 5 mm and height of about 2 mm after the shell was removed, and then it was soaked in the recombinant human BMP 2 to make a cuttlefish bone-BMP (CBB) composite material. Thirty SD rats, with a defect of skull in every rat, were divided into the CBB and pure cuttlefish bone (PCB) groups according to the random number table, with 15 rats in each group. The rats in the group CBB and group PCB were transplanted with the corresponding material to repair the skull defect. At post transplantation week (PTW) 4, 6, and 8, 5 rats from every group were sacrificed by exsanguination, and ink perfusion was performed. One day later, all the transplants and part of the skull surrounding the defect were harvested, and general observation was conducted at the same time. The specimens were paraffin sectioned for HE staining and Masson staining. The area of microvessel and the area of newborn bone were observed and analyzed through histopathological techniques and image collection system. Data were processed with the analysis of variance of factorial design and LSD test. The correlation between the area of microvessel and the area of newborn bone of the group CBB was analyzed with Pearson correlation analysis. Results: (1) The general observation of the transplant region showed that the transplants were encapsulated by a capsule of fibrous connective tissue. The texture of capsule was soft and relatively thick at PTW 4. The texture was tenacious and thin, but rather compact at PTW 6 and 8. The transplants became gelatinous at PTW 4, and similar to the cartilage tissue at PTW 6 and 8. (2) Histological observation showed that the structure of the transplants in two groups was damaged at PTW 4. A moderate quantity of inflammatory cell infiltration could be observed. The amounts of the primary bone trabeculae and microvessels in group CBB were more abundant than those of group PCB, while the number of osteoclasts was less than those of group PCB. At PTW 6, the inflammatory cell infiltration in the transplants in both groups decreased obviously, the cuttlefish bone was found to be further degraded, and the number of newborn microvessels was increased. There were mature bone trabeculae around the transplants in both groups. And there were also mature bone trabeculae in the degraded CBB in group CBB. At PTW 8, the inflammatory reaction in the transplants in both groups disappeared; there were more mature bone trabeculae; the structure of the cuttlefish bone was found to be damaged basically. Bone trabeculae in group PCB were found around the transplant, while the bone trabeculae could be observed not only around the transplant but also in the degraded CBB in group CBB. The amount of the microvessels in group CBB was still larger than that of group PCB. (3) From PTW 4 to 8, the area of microvessel in group CBB [(63 ± 4), (136 ± 36), (347 ± 31) μm2] was larger than that in group PCB [(44 ± 7), (73 ± 4), (268 ± 42) μm2, P < 0.05 or P < 0.01]. From PTW 4 to 8, the area of newborn bone in group CBB [(236 ± 26), (339 ± 42), (553 ± 40) μm2] was larger than that in group PCB [(137 ± 15), (243 ± 21), (445 ± 29) μm2, with P values all below 0.01]. (4) The relation between the area of microvessel and the area of newborn bone was significantly positive (r = 0.948, P = 0.001). Conclusions: The CBB may exert good effect on osteogenesis and vascularization of rats with bone defect. It is a good three dimensional scaffold in bone tissue engineering.